Brother's At Last
by red guppie
Summary: I wonder what would happen between two brothers, who hated each other with a heated passion, if one was given new life and the other the chance to start over on having the brother he allways wished he had. Rated for language and some later teen thoughts.
1. Believe it 'cause you're seein' it

**Believe it 'cause you're seein' it**

What Inuyasha saw before him he could hardly believe. And if it was that he could hardly believe it, then nobody else would believe it. Or, they could possibley choose to not believe him alltogether.

He let his jaw slack as he remembered his day and all that could have happened to lead up to this. But as he remembered and remembered, nothing out of the ordinary popped up.

It all started before sunrise, like it allways did for him. Sunrise was the only chance he could get a bath in with Kagome's soaps. Of course, he'd have to dirty his outer hakana and other garments so as to conceil their nice smell. At least he was clean.

Once back to camp, the others had just begun to rise, he ate fish and helped Kagome gather her things. With Kagome, and of course Shippo, on his back, they made their way; Sango and Miroku ridding Kirara. At around noon, Kagome began to complain of hunger pains. Inuyasha, who didn't dare a sit, complied. He drank a cola, which seemed to be the only thing that could calm him down, while the others ate. But of course Kagome was in one of her moods that she gets once a month, a time of month that the poor inu hanyou wisses he could just disappear from the face of the earth. And of course, that very same inu hanyou had to open his big, stupid mouth and say something like, "Why in the hell does it take you so long to eat?" Kagome's reply, as usual, was to igve him a couple of sits and stomp off. In his haste to retrieve her, seeing as how she was so vulnerable in this time of month, he stumbled upon what he is seeing now.

The only thing he could think of to have caused this awful event was that Kagome had gained extreme miko powers due to her condition and turned him into a ... naw. She hated him, but she would be too mad to care. Plus, when did Kagome gain more miko powers? As far as Inuyasha knew, she hadn't.

He scratched his head, looking down at the now crying infant, wondering what he was going to do. After desiding against killing him, that would be too cruel, and leaving him, casue no matter what, he was still just an infant, he came to the conclusion that the only thing left to do was to take him back to Kagome. Maybe, if she wasn't too Kami awful mad at him, she could do something.

After much hesitation, Inuyasha picked up the now blue infant and craddled him the crook of his left arm. Instantly, and much to the hanyou's surprise, the tiny bundle of fur and skin quieted down. Two liquid amber eyes peered up at him. Inuyasha began to slowly melt on the inside. Now he knew what his mother felt like when he would look up at her. The tiny babe reached up and grabbed for a stray lock of Inuyasha's white hair. Without a moments hesitation, the infant pulled. Inuyasha let out a yelp, yanking his hair from his iron grip.

"Why you little ... " Inuyasha didn't have the chance to finish. Obviously the harshness in his voice and the expression on his face was enough to send the babe into fright, causing him to cry again. "No, no, no, shhhhh ... " Inuyasha instinctivaly began to bounce the infant, as he had seen Kagome do this many times in the past. This soothed him and he quieted down. Once more he reached for the white strands ... and stuck them in his mouth. "This is gunna be hard." Inuyasha mummbled.

Miroku had watched it unfod before his very eyes. Another fight. And ding, ding, guess who won? Yep, the allmighty 'Sitter'. He shook his and inwardly sighed. If those two made it to marriage and beyond the first night without a fight, Miroku would stop his letcherous ways. But, until hell froze over, he was still as hentai as ever.

With Kagome off in the woods, and dog boy on her heels, Miroku found that he had nothing better to do than to revert back to his lecherous ways. He couldn't explain it to someone if they asked why he acted the way he did. He just did. It's kinda like those retorical questions that answer themsleves; what colour is grass?, do trees have bark?, why do we eat?, where do babies come from? Well, not so much the last one. But, in all its truth, Miroku is the way he is because's he male. That's all there is to it.

And so, with no care in the world, he again groped Sango's butt. And she again slapped him, calling him a hentai while he rubbed his cheek and wondered what that was for. It seemed that, anymore, Miroku's 'habit' was not a 'habit' at all but more of an unconcious doing of some other being. He was truely possessed.

"I don't know why you keep doing that, monk." Shippo pipped in, shaking his head as though Miroku were the child and he was the scolding father. "You know what happens. Someday, Sango's just gunna leave and you won't have anyone to look after you. Come to thing of it, the same things gunna happen to Inuyasha if he doesn't get his act together."

Shippo, as well as the others, had a front row seat to the recent lover's brawl. If it wasn't for the fact that Inuyasha needed her, and on more terms than one, Shippo was sure that Kagome would leave and they wouldn't hear a thing from her. But, thankfully, that wasn't the way it was. Kagome would be mad for a while, maybe take a week off, making poor hanyou boy go and get her. It was a system, and only three times has that system ever been broken, but that's a whole different story for a whole different time.

And, even though a day passed and not a hair seen from either inu boy or the 'Sitter', Shippo was confident that that system still wouldn't be broken. It was a matter of the jewel shard, to tell anyone the truth. Without Kagome, Inuyasha wouldn't be able to find even a single jewel shard, so says experiance. In fact, Inuyasha would not be able to function properly without Kagome by his side to keep him in order.

Miroku thought the same. He had spent endless hours, when he wasn't with the ladies of course, observing the ever growing relationship between inu boy and the 'Sitter'. It had started out, as do most relationships, with trying to figure out if the other likes you. That was the hardest, because someone had to own up and eventually just give in for anything to go beyond that point. And then, also with most relationships, come's the dreaded past lovers.

'I suppose that in their case, Kikyou is only slightly dreaded when it comes to Kagome's side of the story. But, that is to be expected.' Miroku thought. 'They are both the same person, just different bodies, different characters in this world. They are so different, but in the end it comes down to the fact that Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. This is going to be hard. Very, very hard.'

Kagome had walked, quite aimlessly to be exact, for at least two hours. At first, she had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she was thuroughly pissed at Inuyasha.Now, however, she had a good sense about where she was. If she headed north for another ten minutes, she would reach a small alcove. It wasn't the hot spring that she was used to, but anything would do to cool her mind down a bit.

She didn't even know why exactly she was mad at him. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to it, after traveling with him for about three years, she had figured Inuyasha out almost to the core. She knew he didn't mean it. It just came out. Due to years of mental and emotional hurt, yelling seemed to be the only way he could get anything across to someone. He had to be rough in order to survive in a world that didn't want him.

How must that feel? Thinking that no one wants you just because you look different. Having to go through life with only yourself as a support system. With only yourself as a very negative support system. Wanting what you can't have and knowing that, so when you get it it hurts so deeply when it's gone that death is better than the pain? Or having something and not knowing how to deal with it, then dealing with it all wrong and regretting everything that you ever did only to have that something special leave.

'Is this how Inuyasha feels when I leave him?' Kagome thought, grief striken already.

It wasn't as if she was trying to be purposely harmful to him, she hoped that he realized this. She was just so stressed out over everything, she didn't know how to deal with his remarks or his attitude. With this being her senior year of high school, the last semester too, and test piling up here and there, she felt as if she had no time. She was barely passing, with a little below average as her best. Two of her very best friends were on the honor society. Her mother and ji-chan were running out of excusses, and now she had an angry hanyou to deal with.

How was she going to survive?

She shrugged it off, having reached her destination.

The water looked warm, it sure wasn't crystal clear. The alcove, in all, wasn't bigger than an average sized private put-together-yourself pool. But it was nice. Surrounded on all sides but one by trees, and a huge rock jutting out from the lakes entrance into the alcove, it provided the perfect place to bathe in peace. No letcherous monk, no overly-concerned about every scream hanyou. Just Kagome, and no one else.

Even though she felt safe, she still stripped as soon as possible. Because she had brought no other clothes with her, she couldn't dare risk wet panties. So they lie on the shore with her other garments. It felt nice to have the semi-warm surround her from all sides, eveloping her in their calm. She dove under the water, grabbing a rock from the bottom and began to scrub herself. Though it wasn't as effective as soap, it still felt refreshing. After she had taken care of her hair, she let herself relax, knowing this silence wasn't going to last long.

With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself from the water, dressing as fast as she had stripped. She hated the way the clothes clung to her wet skin.

"Now to find Inuyasha." She said out loud, walking back the way she had come.

"MIROKU! I swear, if you do it AGAIN, you'll wish for death!" Sango yelled, fire rising in her eyes.

"But, my dear Sango ... " Miroku pleaded.

"Don't you 'dear Sango' me. I warned you before and I have no intention of warning you again."

Shippo had had so much of their constant bickering over the last several hours, that he resorted to simply putting his hands over his ears and walking in a little circle singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle'. He was stopped right in the middle of singing the second verse when a very agrevated voice got all of their attention.

"Allright! That's enough, you baka's!" Inuyasha yelled. "I can't believe it, gone for half a day and look at 'ya. Bunch of animals."

"What's that, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked, jumping up on his shoulder to get a better look at the contents in the blanket. "Food?"

"Sure! Why the hell not!?"

"It's a baby." Shippo's eyes became so wide that for a minute Inuyasha feared that they would pop out of his head. "Where'd you get a baby?"

"Yes, Inuyasha, do tell?" Miroku had walked up to stand at his right, peering down at the babe with those all knowing eyes of his.

"Inuyasha?" Sango questioned from his left.

"Found 'em." Inuyasha shrugged.

"You just found him? All alone?" Miroku asked. He reached out, gently stroking the childs cheek.

"Yeah."

"Where?" Sango asked. "Was he by a village?"

"I found him in the woods. Just laying there."

"Did you find Kagome?" Shippo asked, still perched on his shoulder, toying with a fuzzy article by the babe's face.

"No. I didn't have time. I found him and came straight back here."

"Why did you bring him here?"

"What else was I suppost to do? Just leave him. Great idea, Shippo!"

"He has a good point, Shippo." Miroku said. "It would have been very cruel to have just left this adorable little thing out in the wood all by it's loansome."

"All I meant was, aren't we going to be in big trouble if the parents find us?"

"He dosen't have any parents, Shippo." Inuyasha said. He shifted the babe higher up, pulling down the blanket to see his face better.

"How do you know that?" Sango asked.

"Ain't it kinda obvious. You should know who he his just by looking at him."

The group got closer, trying to see just what it was that Inuyasha saw in the young babe. All they could make out was a small dot on his forehead and two lines starting at his ear and running to his cheek.

"Oh, Kami." Miroku said.

"This is different." Sango nodded her head.

"I still don't get it." Shippo shrugged.

"You dwit." Inuyasha flicked him on the forehead. "It's my brother."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Sango had taken over temporary mother of the babe. She did seem to be the best bet by all standards. One, she was female. Two, she had delt with a younger sibling before. And three, she just seemed to be the best bet overall. Males don't make good caretakers without a lot of help.

She had the infant proped up on her legs while she played with it's toes. To everyone's amazement, the babe had no clothes on, so they had to make due and try not to expose him. So far it was working. He didn't seem to mind her and would often giggle if she tiggled or blew on his toes or legs. It seemed hard for everyone to believe that this was the same Sesshomaru that never showed a smile, never tried to be happy in any way at all.

It was well after dark by the time Kagome had made it back and by that time the babe was so worked up over crying that he was beginning to turn blue. Try as they might, the group could not seem to calm him down.

"Make it stop!" Inuyasha roared.

"I highly doubt that is going to help, Inuyasha." Miroku informed him, a bit of an egde to his voice. He was currently jingling his staff infront of the infants face.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star ... " Shippo yelled for the fifth time, though no one seemed to be able to hear him.

"What is going on?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, thank Kami!" Inuyasha sighed. "He won't shut up."

Kagome looked to the direction that he was pointing, surprised to see a tiny, very blue, infant. He sure had a set of lungs on him. But where would they have gotten an infant? Especially a demon child; one that had a very familiar aura about him.

"Make it stop!" Inuyasha moaned, covering his ears. He had a look upon his face as if he was in pain.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded. She walked over to the babe, holding out her arms to take the babe. Sango didn't fight, glad that the child was not in her hands anymore.

Kagome gently began to stroke the childs cheek, pulling him close so that he was snugg against her body. This calmed the babe, for no longer did he cry. Although, his face was contorted in pain and a few whimpers would escape him ever now and then. "That's better." Kagome cooed. "I bet your hungry, huh?"

"How in the hell?" Inuyasha asked, stepping up to stand by Kagome and look down upon the now asleep babe. "We tried everything."

"He was just tired, that's all."

"Yeah, but if their tired, don't they usually shut up?"

"When babies can't get what they want, they cry. It's their way of telling us things."

"Yeah, well, I don't speak annoying." He grumbled.

"Sure 'ya do. Everyday." Shippo said, lighty jumping up on Kagome's shoulder so he wouldn't wake the child. "So cute."

"I should hit you."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded.

"What?"

Kagome just rolled her eyes. Sometimes she didn't know why she stayed around. He was such a jerk sometimes. He made Shippo look like the adult.

"So this ... " Kagome didn't know how to ask.

"Is my brother."

"Really?!"

"Yep."

"But how?"

"You tell me. I just found him. Figured it'd be too mean to just leave him all alone. So, like the baka I am, I brought him here. I thought maybe you would know what to do."

"I'll have to go home to get a few things. Here," Kagome handed the babe to Inuyasha. Inuyasha's face instantly soured. "Be nice. I'll be back in a bit."

A.N. : This is the first fanfiction I've ever posted but I don't want you to be overly nice, just don't be rude. I'd like to hear what you actually think. Be a critic. I should update once a week. Thanks.


	2. Myoga, I'm gunna squash you

Must read for sake of story. Please. :

A/N: So, yeah, it took me longer to update. Defently not a week. I tell 'ya what, those seven year-olds sure do know a lot about computers. My little brother got on my laptop, on my internet service, and downloaded (guess, I dare 'ya) ... if you said porn your right. I got in trouble for it. Little shit. But my alliby played out (and it was true) because Jesse, my boyfriend, told my parents that I was with him (you don't wanna know what the two of us do:) SORRY. Way to much info. But I love him and I don't care if the church thinks it's wrong. Guess I should tell you now, hmm? I'm gay. But I'm not affraid to speak it. Don't worry, I'm not the 'shoes' gay or the 'cowboy' gay that dresses like a super model. I'm just your average,17 year-old, who knows exactly who he wants to be. And I'm not gender confused either. I just had something REALLY bad happen to me when I was little and Jesse has always been there for me. I hope this dosen't make you stop reading. And if you want to ask me questions, feel FREE. I love to help people and I don't mind. I actually like it when people ask questions. I want to be able to express my feelings, too. So question away. And by the way, you can read now. : And if you don't want to read it anymore, could you please tell me why.

**Chapter 2: Myoga, I'm gunna squash you like the flea you are**

"He's sleeping." Inuyasha whispered.

It had taken a whole three hours - three frigin' hours! - to get the babe calmed down enough to feed him, give him a bath and lay him down for sleep.

Turns out, Inuyasha dosen't have 'the' touch with children because right after Kagome left - exactly right after - the babe let out a blood curtling screem, as if he was in pain. Inuyasha had checked everwhere and could not find a scratch on the kid. Nothing seemed to be wrong. He had tried bouncing him, whispering to him, hell he even gave Shippo the chance to sing to the babe. But nothing was working.

As soon as Kagome had returned the little one had decided to quite down, even though the sobbing did not stop.

First on the list of parently chores was to feed the babe. Easier said than done. Not even Kagome had enough practice to have it down pat. Especially with a child this small. But, once started, it really wasn't that hard to do. The babe took the bottle willingly and fast, sucking it in so fast that it seemed more came out of his mouth than had gone in.

After his feeding, Kagome had informed Miroku on how to burb, insisting that she and Sango needed to prepare his bath. He took the job willingly, ever the monk to help those that were in need. Though, he had to admit that it was weird helping the Great Sesshomaru of the Western Lands. To his knowledge, Sesshomaru had never asked for help. But, yet again, he had also never asked to be turned into a babe.

Kagome and Sango went about their core teadiously, as though it was the most important job they had ever performed. Kagome had brought back a tub, to clean the babe in, soap and even something to change the child into, a convenient blue and white onepiece.

After collecting hot water from the local hot spring, which the girls would have to check in on later, they began the task of getting ready for the actual bath. All in all, it wasn't that hard of a job, considering that he wasn't wrapped in much besides his sash. At first it was odd, seeing the Great Lord Sesshomaru in his birth-day suit, quite literally actually. Just a couple of months and it would have actually been so.

The second Sesshomaru hit the water, he was sqealing in pleasure. It just felt so good. So warm, and so soothing. He was splashing about, giggling and flaring his arms every which way. He seemed so happy. Happier than the rest of the group had ever seen him. So full of joy, even for the ever sour Sesshomaru - the killing perfection, laughing and playing so full of heart.

In fact, his joy was becoming quite contagious, considering that now every memeber of the group was participating in some way or the other in bathing him. Shippo had the fun pretty much covered; Sango was enjoying playing with his toes, washing them in the process; Miroku would jingle his staff above the child; even Inuyasha was helping, handing Kagome all the soaps or oils that she needed.

How could someting so simple be so damn much fun? Everyone was participating in something that seemed so 'family orienated' that they actually felt that they had become closer. This was something that they could all do. It was simplicity in their hectic life of constantly searching for the jewel shard, fighting demon's, warding off hell, blah blah blah. But this. This was something that seemed almost normal.

And to Inuyasha, to Inuyasha it was as if he had a new life with his brother. He would try this time, he decided. It was a snap decision. Sometimes snap decisions didn't get him the best results. But this one, he decided would be a good decision. It would be something that he would be able to deal with for the rest of his life.

Sesshomaru could be good. Anyone could agree with that. Given enough time, patience and love, anyone could become 'nice' again. This would be even easier, because the group would be able to start over again. Start with the pure innocent soul of an infant. Like any dog, the owner made all the difference. If the owner was cruel and neglectful, then the dog would be just the same. Yet, if the owner was kind and forgiving with their canine counterpart, the the dog would turn into the true version of man's best friend.

And if they could do that to Sesshomaru, then it was possible that they would have done the greatest thing on earth. The one thing that no one thought possible. Yet somehow they knew. They knew that this would be a very easy task. In some terms.

Once the cold air hit the child's wet body, everything was the same as before. His breath hitched, then he screamed. Nothing could have compared to this child's scream. It was far, far worse than any horror movie made by Hollywood, that was for sure. It was like hell.

Kagome wrapped Sesshomaru in the towl that she had brought along, drying him off quick. She then dressed him in the white and blue onepiece, wrapped him in a blanket and began to rock him. She couldn't help but melt at the look he gave her. His sweet smile as well as his honey amber eyes were conveing a very deep mesage. It became clear to Kagome that he had never been treated like this before. He had never lived the life of someone that needed help from other. And thus he was thanking her.

"I'm keeping him." Kagome whispered, not taking her eyes off of Sesshomaru. "I don't care what you think, Inuyasha. I'm keeping him."

"Never said you couldn't." Inuyasha mumbled trough a mouth full of Ramen. And it was true. He wanted to keep him. He wanted to try again. He wanted to make things right between him and his brother. He didn't want to have to deal with an angry Kagome.

"Oh ... well I ... um ... why?"

"I dunno ... I guess I just ... oughta try ... I never ... "

"Master Inuyasha!" Myoga yelled.

Inuyasha lightly tapped his neck. He had questions to ask the all-mighty flee demon. He tended to know everything anyway.

"I see you're in a rather light mood Master ... what in the seven hells happened to him!?"

"You tell me. I just found him like that."

"You sure like sayin' that, don't 'ya Inuyasha?" Shippo laughed.

"Shut up! I oughta hit you!"

"You like sayin' that too, huh?"

"I will kick your ass!"

"I wanna see you try!"

"Get over here!"

"Stop this!" Miroku demanded. "You two are acting like big, overgrown babies. And as far as I know, only one person has the right to act like that and that's Sesshomaru. Now, we have a very pressing matter to attend to and your bickering is not going to help anything. So just shut up and chill out."

"Thank you, Miroku." Myouga said. "Now, down to the matter at hand. All I can tell you is: this is odd. This is very, very odd. I have never heard of nor seen anything like it. I do not know of anyone that could tell you what happened to Lord Sesshomaru or how to deal with it. I do not believe that there is anything any of you could do to turn him back. I believe that you'll just have to raise him like your own. Though it will be hard. Many demons, lords and even the lowly demon, have grudges against Lord Sesshomaru. If any of this gets out, that he has been reduced to an infant, you will have yourself most likely your biggest problem ever."

"Even worse than that of Naruku?" Sango inquired.

"I believe so. Many powerful demons will be after Lord Sesshomaru, wanting to take the land from him."

"But wouldn't they have to get past me, because I AM the next in line for being lord. Second heir, make sense?"

"Well, yes, it should make sense but many demons do not see you as being the next in line because you are a half demon, Inuyasha."

"Oh, wonderful, here we go again. The whole 'half-demon' splee is really starting to get old."

"I agree with you, my Lord. But that's not always how it goes in the world of demon's. You should know that."

"Oh, I do, believe me. I do. Some two-hundred years of it and I think I've got it down pack."

"Not trying to be rude," Miroku said, like the way a person does when they don't want to be rude but just have to change the subject, "but could we possibly get back to the here and now? Maybe?"

"Yeah." Shippo pipped. "What are we suppost to do? Just raise him like he was one of our own?"

"I believe I already stated that before." Myoga informed from his spot on Kagome's shoulder. "There is nothing more that you could do. The infant, be he Lord Sesshomaru or not, is still helpless. To leave him to fend on his own would be a most sinfull act. You could not, would not, commit such an act, would you?"

"Of course not! I just thought it would be kind of weird. Plus, it'd be hard to tow him around. What, with us hunting for jewel shards and fighting Naraku, not to mention all the other demon's, and humans, that have it out for us. How would be able to do? Give him all the attention, I mean."

"Shippo has a good point." Sango stated.

"But we could handle it! We've handled worse before. We can't just leave him. I refuse to ... " Kagome was become hysterical, clutching the babe to her breasts as if would allow her to keep him.

"Chill, Kagome. No one said you had to get rid of him. But Shippo does have a point. We can't keep him around, put him in danger." The moment it slipped, Inuyasha wished it hadn't. It was only a concious thought. Yet, somehow it had slipped his tounge, though his mind wished it not to.

"You're actually worried about your brother, Inuyasha?" Miroku quered.

"Well ... "

"Ahem." All heads turned to look at Myoga. He didn't fail to see the releif flood his young masters face. "As for Naraku ... Sources have indicated that he is no longer of this world. Such as the way Kagome comes through the Bone Eater's Well, Naraku has passed too. Only his is not able to return to this world. It is rumored that he has been sent to another realm completely. There are demon's that will come to me if they hear anything before I do."

"So Naraku is down?" Inuyasha couldn't believe. Four years of fighting Naraku and he just up and dissapears? What's with that? "How long."

"I suppose a couple months."

"A couple months!? You mean to tell me that we've been following a false trail for a couple of months!?"

"I wanted to make sure that the sources were correct."

"Argh!"

"And what of the Shikon no Tama? Has it dissapeared as well?" Miroku asked. He had moved closer to Kagome to look down upon the still sleeping babe. He still could not believe that this innocent, and cute, thing was actually Sesshomaru-sama.

"Not that I know of. There is a wise soothsayer that might be able to help answer some of your questions."

"I thought you said no one know of it." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Of the lord, no. But of the Shikon, yes. This soothsayer sees very clearly into the future. He has not been proved wrong yet."

"And when you say 'soothsayer', do you mean of the Roman's. In the continent?" Sango asked.

"Hai. He traveled here some time ago, seeking a nirvana. I believe he has found it. I do know him in person, for he worked for the late Lord, Inutaishou."

"Why don't I know this?" Inuyasha screamed.

All eyes flew to the babe, expecting the worse. Though the babe sqermed a bit, he did not seem to rise. For a while, at least, the group was safe.

"You don't know this because you don't ask."

"Myoga, I'm gunna squash you like the flee you are!"

"I shall be taking my leave now." And with that he was gone.

"Dirty rat!"

"Now what?" Miroku asked.

"I say we go see that soothsayer. See what he has to say. It couldn't hurt anything. Besides, we have nothing else to do."

"Sango's right. If all we're going to do now is sit here and wait, we might as well be doing something productive. We have no Naruku to go after, thank Buddha, and we have not seen nor heard of the Shikon in days. I agree with Sango. Those with us say 'hai'."

"Hai." Shippo.

"Hai." Kagome.

"Yeah whatever." (You should know :)

soothsayer- kinda like a fortune teller. In Shakespear's 'Julious Ceasar', the soothsayer warns Ceasar to 'beware the ides of March' middle of March- 15th

continent refers to China, Russia, India, Europe, Rome, pretty much anything on that big chunk of land.

Inutaishou- many Japanese add an u to the end for emphasis, Taishou is Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father, former Lord of the Wester Lands

Hope it helped :


	3. I knew that

Here I go again! Smile. Jesse said so.

**Chapter 3: I knew that.**

Dawn seemed to arive too soon for the still tired group. And though everyone else was up and doing their morning duties, Sesshomaru still lay in his bundle, completely content.

It had surprised everyone that, not once, had Sesshomaru waken up during the night. He had slept peacefully, giving the others the chance to do so as well. And even as he lay now, eyes wide open and ready to take in his new world completely, he did not fuss. He only watched, entertained by what the others would do. And of course, the others would stop in their work and coo at the babe or smile down at him. Inuyasha had even caught himself doing it a couple of times, seeing someone completely different yet totally the same each and every time he looked down upon his little brother.

The group had been traveling for three days now, heading for the snow covered mountain tips at the northern most point of Japan. They had received information from Jinenji, surprisingly enough, concerning the whereabouts of the soothsayer and even a name of which they were to call him upon. He called himself Calfur, which defently seemed like a name for someone of the continent.

So, on they traveled. Marching like little itsi bitsi ants that knew they would not reach their destination for a long while, yet never gave up the possitive attitude. Their journey across the middle of Japan and to the very tip would take six to seven days, give or take. Not even Inuyasha dared to go much faster than that, seeing that they were going at a steady pace as it was. And though he would never admit it to the others, he enjoyed being able to slow down. With not having a time limit or seriously concerning matter at hand that had to be taken care of immedietaly, relaxation was a luxury that they could finally afford.

Sesshomaru had taken to traveling very quickly, adjusting to the schedule of waking at dawn, eating, traveling, eating around the middle of the day, traveling some more befor stopping to make camp, eating again, and sleeping. He did not whine or fuss unnessesaraly, only when he needed a diaper change or a bit extra of something to eat. Other than that, he was content to be held in someone's arms, be it Sango or Kagome or Miroku and even Inuyasha on occasion. The only time he was in Shippo's hand was at a resting point, seeing as how the babe was as big as he was. Though Shippo loved it all the same.

It still seemed odd to all of the group how kind and free-hearted Sesshomaru seemed to be, so full of peace and innocence. Though he had not yet the time to see the changes in the world, the group concluded something tramatising must have occured durring his previous life to have caused him to grow up so scornful. And of course the first thing they thought of was Inuyasha's mother Izayoi and their fathers affair with her. But something like that couldn't have impacted his life so much that the Great Lord of the Western Lands would not be able to cope and continue his life. It was such an unsignificant problem, it couldn't possibly have caused this much trouble could it? Considering that if he wanted to, Sesshomaru could easily have all ties broken with his younger brother, seperating Inuyasha from his life forever. Therefor, it had to have something of such great importance, something so horrible that not even could the Great Lord ignore it, push it from his mind to live in some sort of peace for the rest of his existance.

This thought bothered even Inuyasha to the point of hair ripping frustration. He was so tiny, so cute and so happy. He had been born a happy person, lived some of his life as a happy person, and then - BOOM! - he had turned into such and egotistical asshole that not even Koga could hold up to it. Now he was so coldhearted and vicious, that the meaning 'killing perfection' meant to his name really stuck. But how? Why? When? Could he be started all over? Is that was this was, a game that someone decided to push the restart button on? Could it be that easy?

'Will I be able to love him, like a father's suppost to love a son?' Inuyasha thought as he watched Kagome feed Sesshomaru. 'Hell, would I even want to? I ain't his damn father. But what to do? I'm already goin soft on him. Little shit.'

"Shit." Inuyasha mumbled.

All heads turned to him, even little Sesshomaru's.

"What are you thinking about, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, shifting the babe to burp him.

"Nothin'. Just 'bout the Jewel, I guess." He said. Standing, he moved to sit by Kagome, who had received a rather appreciated burp from the tiny lad. "And what happens when we get all this figured out?"

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, suspiciously, pulling the babe close to her.

Inuyasha sighed, gently removed Sesshomaru from her arms and placed him in his lap, where he looked down upon him with concerning eyes.

"Do you even know who I am?" He asked.

Sesshomaru only giggled, holding out his hands to Inuyasha.

"No hair. Here, suck on my finger. You are so weird. If you knew anything about me you'd probably bite my finger right off. But look at you. You don't even know who you are." Inuyasha was smiling now. The rest of the group's mouths dropped when he picked Sesshomaru up and craddled him in his arms. "You, little one, are Taishou Sesshomaru, heir of the Great Dog Demon Inutaishou, former Lord of the Western Lands."

Inuyasha stood and, without saying anything, leaped into the tree they were resting under. He tucked Sesshomaru deeper into his chest, feeling the soft rise and fall of his chest, the caress his breath made on his cheek, the smell of milk on his tounge. He gently sweeped his hair out of his face, already it was down to his shoulders. The features that Inuyasha had gotten used to were already peeking through his skin. His ears were very prominent, a sharp edge tipping each of them. The cresent moon on his forhead, though a very light blue, was magnified by his unusally pale skin along with his two thin, magenta strips on each cheek. Two stripes of the same colour and width wound around his wrists, waist, thighs and ankles.

Inuyasha layed back, thankful that he was given a second chance.

The man that walked into the small clearing was so breath-takingly beautiful, he seemed to have a light shinning about him. An angel sent down from the heaven's to do his bidding, ordered by Kami himself, on the poor humans, ever kind and a heart of gold. Hell, it'd go just great with his looks. Cus, damn! He had to be perfect, in every shape and form, his skin like porcelian, his face sculpted by the finest artist.

His blinding, waist length, blonde hair swirled around him as he made it into the camp, taking no care of the four dumb founded beings. He walked into their presence as though he had always belonged their, smiling down at the group as he got close. With a final step, he all but floated to ground, right beside Kagome, so close that his arm brushed agianst hers.

"A little birdy told me that you would be summoning me." He said in a voice that belonged to a singer, his dimples showing as he smiled at them all.

Now, if anyone had told them that the soothsayer would look this good, they would have laughed in their face and called them crazy. They would have suspected an old man like Myoga, on his last limbs, just barely getting by. But no! This man had to be the spiting image of every womans dreams, and man's at that.

Flame from the fire seemed to be drawn to him by an invisible force, dancing on his silver outfit, adding a spark to his hair, and setting the features of his face into shadows. Though he was beautiful and still very well defined.

And the fact that he was sitting so close to them, as though he was an old friend, as though he was invited, seemed to make them all calm down. He just kinda had that about him, like a spell he had put on everyone. He smiled, never once showing any reason for fear, and sat politely as the group gawked.

A shift of the wind sent his hair wild and he quickly hurried to tame it back to his head. He tied it in a leather band and continued to sit quietly. A very, very awkward silence followed.

"Who's your friend?" Inuyasha asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. He was still holding the sleeping Sesshomaru in his arms.

"Inuyasha, good to see you agian!" Calfur said, jumping up, ready to greet Inuyasha the way a friend would.

"HOW do YOU know ME?"

"I believe the better question would be, 'How have you been?' No eager greeting? Well then, never mind. And how has Lord Sesshomaru been? My, I would have figured him to be a little bigger. Well, I believe it is true that some people grow at different rates. May I hold him?"

"What? Fuck no! Back of, you won't touch him!"

"Now calm down, Inuyasha." Calfur put up his hands defensively. "I only meant to be nice. I mean no harm. Now let's calm down and discuss this like normal adults. That is why you're searching me out, is it not?"

"But how did you know?"

"I'm a soothsayer, I see the future. So states the name and manner of your visitation to me. So, you will talk to me about many things, ask me many questions, and be a tyrant if you don't mind me saying so, but, due to the calmness of my demon nature, I will simply answer all of them truthfully and patiently."

"What kind of ... "

"Horse."

"Well." Miroku stammered. "I think this should ..."

"'Help us a lot'? I do believe so. But, just to make it more fun, I'll have you ask all the questions. How does that sound? Fun. I agree too."

"Ooooh, I got a question?" Shippo said, raising his hand and waving it around frantically.

"Shoot." His liquid blue eyes seemed to smile at the young kitsune, happy that he would play along with him.

"Can we keep him?"

"If you want to. It all depends up to you."

"Do you think he'll be my little brother?"

"Sure."

"REALLY?"

"I can never lie."

"Never."

"Shippo, shut it. We have more important things to ask him." Inuyasha grumbled. He gave the child back to Kagome and sat down across from Calfur. "How much do you know?"

"Everything."

"What happened to the Jewel shards?"

"Now, Inuyasha, I don't think that's the question you really want to be asking right now, is it? What I believe you would like to ask is something along the line of, 'Will I be good enough to raise him? Will I be able to teach him everything he'll need to know? Can I really love him? Will he really love me?' Sound familiar?"

"How did you ... never mind. So ... answers."

"It all depends on you."

"What!? I thought you said you could see the future!"

"I can. But ... the future is not set in stone, Inuyasha. If you choose to get rid of him, then the answer is no. If you choose to keep him but don't do any more than push him off on Kagome, then he will adore you, but he will never love you. And if YOU choose to raise him, be the main support of his life, show him the love he's never had, then he will be the most important thing in your life."

"More important than ... "

"Your mate, Inuyasha, is a part of you. Nothing is more important than her."

"Do you ... "

"It's exactly who you want it to be."

"Even if I leave Sesshomaru?"

"It'll take a while, but yes."

"And there's nothing we can do to change him back?"

"No. Would you like to tell me who did this to him? Of course you would. I'm so silly." Calfur slowly stood, gliding up almost. He turned, peering into the forest that surrounded them as though he could see something that they could not. "You can come out now."

Should I stop? Leave you hanging. Suspense is a bitch. So, no. I'll continue. Kill me. And just so you know, this is gunna be a damn long chapter.

What Inuyasha suspected could not have compared to what walked out of the woods, hair pinned up, tail waving, armor shinning.

Inuyasha had only seen him once before. When they had defeted Menomaru, he had appeared before them all, telling his sons that they had learned well. He had said nothing more than that, only that he was proud of them, smiling as he dissapeared, truely happy.

He looked happy now, stepping away from the comfort of the woods and toward the awaiting group. He had an easy gait to his step, something that showed both power and grace. And he really was gracefully, every fibber of his body was yelling it.

As he came closer, a southing aroma filled Inuyasha's nose and he sucked it up, loving the way it smelled. He drew closer still, untill he had rested beside Inuyasha, pulling into his arms. His fangs gently sank into the base of Inuyasha's neck, and Inuyasha couldn't help but whimper. Inutaishou pulled out, licking at the blood, pulling his pup closer and stroking his hair. Inuyasha could do nothing but submit, his father was his dominater.

"Father ... I ..." Inuyasha stammered, still dizzy from the marking.

"Shh, my son. I'll answer your questions soon enough. Please, just rest."

And soon enough, Inuyasha found his lids becoming unbelievely heavy. He shut them and drifted off to sleep.

As soon as Inutaishou knew that his son was asleep, he turned his caring amber eyes onto his companions. They were all staring at him, but he did not mind. It was only natural that humans be consumed in something that they themselves are unable to understand. They could not explain the situation to even themselves and this fact made him smile. He had forgotten just how gulible human beings could be. Unable to figure out even the simplest of things. Though he had to admit that this had him even a little clueless, which seemed damn near impossible.

"Thank you, for taking care of my son." Inutaishou said, his voice as smooth as vanilla.

"Your welcome." Kagome beemed.

"'Gome, wo's e?" Shippo stammered, almost asleep.

"That's Inuyasha's father."

"Night father."

"Good night, Shippo." His voice was warm, the way a fathers should be.

"Why did you ... "

"It's fun to entertain you." Calfur stated, matter-of-factly.

"Did they ask you?" Inutaishou's voice sounded hard, edged.

"I was simply stating, my friend."

"Hmm. Would you like to explain your death to the heaven's. Maybe Cassia?"

"Kami, don't tell her."

"Hmm."

"You want to ask more questions." He stated bluntly to the rest of the dumn founded group.

"How did you do it?" Kagome asked.

The bluntness of this girl. She was strong-willed. No wonder she could stand up to his son. He had known that he would be stuborn, just like he could be sometimes. But he had to have some sort of good in him as well, because the girl was radiating with joy and forgiveness. He felt safe and calm, as though he was back in heaven. Kagome reminded him very much of his mate.

"I asked the soothsayer to change him for me ... "

"No you did not! You told me to make Inuyasha like Sesshomaru and visa versa. You never told me to 'change' Sesshomaru. I just took back his past and merged his present and future into their present. I did not change him."

"Then what would you call that explanation?"

"I call that, covering my ass. Any more questions?"

"So, we'll get to raise him?" Kagome asked, shifting Sesshomaru away from the wind.

"May I hold him?" Inutaishou asked politely, extending his arms toward his son.

Without a second thought, Kagome stood, passing Sesshomaru to his father, though never leaving his side. It was as though she had formed an instant bond with the babe. She never wanted to be away from him. Never wanted him to cry, or be in pain, or be alone or have to worry. She wanted him to feel safe.

"My, my. The little killing perfection, a cute babe. A handsome babe." Inutaishou chuckled. "A very well fed babe."

For a moment, all the group watched the gentle interaction between father and pup. He looked so peaceful, so normal. Like the model father. He held his son close to his heart, smiling down at him, very proud.

Inutaishou was dumb founded. Literally at a loss for words. When he had first proposed this, he wanted to make sure thier was an escape plan if it all went haywire. And of course the soothsayer had concieved one up for him. But he never expected this. This girl. This shinning beckon of safety and love. She would take care of him, guide him, make sure he had a better life.

This, in all it's glory, saddened Inutaishou. He could feel his heart sink at the thought of him not being their for his child. He had never been a very good father.

He had let Sesshomaru down. He had not been there when his child had needed him the most. He had failed. And that is why he wanted to start it all over agian.

He handed the child back to Kagome, kissed her on the temple and stood to leave.

Good place to stop. No!? Okay!

Inuyasha awoke not to the homely smell of his father but to the warm fragrance of hot milk. He sat up groggily, shaking the sleep from his eyes. His hair was matted to his head, his clothes twisted around his body in a very uncomfortable way.

"Your father put a toxication on his fangs, to make you fall asleep." Sango said. "Here. Drink this, it'll help."

For a long while, Inuyasha just sipped his milk. He had a lot to think about and didn't really want to have to deal with the back-talking soothsayer. He sighed, realising that this was going to be a long day.

His father. He had really come last night. He knew that for sure because he could still smell the warm sent radiating from his clothes, the bite mark on the back of his neck becoming a major pain the rear. But he had come and he had taken Inuyasha into his arms and he had marked him, for the first time in his life, as actually being his son. And he knew it was true because the rest of his pack had been their to watch. They had seen his father emerge from the woods and walk toward him.

He hadn't been able to say but a few words to his father and yet he had said that he would asnwer all of his questions later. Would that really happen? He hoped it would. He had a lot of things to sk his father. He wanted so bad to talk to him, to be able to learn a little bit more about him. But he hadn't. His father had just left, leaving behind him the sent of Inuyasha's comfort.

"Are you feeling better?" Kagome asked.

She sat down beside him, lifting Sesshomaru up into her arms.

"Yeah." Silence. "What did he say?"

"Your father?" Inuyasha nodded. "Not much. He seemed nice."

"He didn't say anything?"

"Just that he had done this to Sesshomaru and that we were suppost to take care of you."

"Hmm."

"Well, he's finally awake." The soothsayer said. This man never seemed to give up, always smiling and being polite. It was as though something in his face was always pulling at the strings on his lips, always making him happy.

"You're weird." Inuyasha mumbled.

"So I've been told." He flashed another smile, handing Inuyasha a bowl of soup. "You've been out cold for quite some time. But don't tell your father." He held a lip to his fingers, still smiling. "If he ever found out, he'd most likely kill me. I never thought about just how much he should have put on his fangs."

"You baka."

Inuyasha looked around, finally seeing that this did not at all look like a crazy old mans house. On the contrary, his house was freshly painted white, completely organized and loomed with the sweet sent of apple and vanilla. There was barely any furniture, only a bed in the corner that sat directly on the floor, a small, knee high bedside stand, and a vase filled with orcids catty-corner from the bed. Looking up, Inuyasha could see an elaberately drawn portrait of the night sky. It wasn't until he saw a shooting star that he realised he was actually gazing upon the night sky inself.

"How ... ?"

"Magic. All soothsayers know a little bit." He flashed another smile. "I just know a little more than most, that's all."

"Stop smiling."

"Cranky."

Inuyasha sneered. He continued to eat his soup until one very pressing matter arose that should have been taken care of a while ago.

Inuyasha looked up, making sure Calfur wasn't smiling before asking, "And the ..."

"Jewel shard? That's a good question. And to tell you the truth, I have no idea."

"I ..."

"Inuyasha," Calfur suddenly became very serious, stilling Inuyasha's complaint. "The jewel shard is something that I have never been able to see. I can not see it's future because for some reason it will not allow me. It has blocked itself away from the rest of the world. I believe that it is thoroughly pissed off at something, if you don't mind me being so blunt. To tell the truth, it gathered itself together. I suppose it was sick of all the pain that it was causing."

"Gathered itself together?" Kagome questioned.

"Yes. It was simply giving you the chance to realise your powers. I don't think it realised that all this would take place, all this pain and suffering, just because it could give someone false hope of powers that would eventually become their demise. Or that it'd take four years. Inuyasha asked quickly.

"Because she's cute."

Kagome shook her head, unable to resist the urge to blush. He was just so damn hot. "And what of Naraku?"

"Like I said, 'false hope of powers that would eventually become their demise'. The jewel shard became so tainted that not even could Naraku's purely evil soul handle it. The jewel sent him far away, not wanting to deal with him any longer"

"So just like that, he's gone? That easy?"

"Easy?" Calfur scoffed. "Young girl, it was your future. The jewel would have never let anything bad happen to any one of you. Shikon pulled it off because it realised that someone was about to get hurt. It would never hurt you."

"It decided?"

"Yes. It has a mind of its own, I must say."

"And thus we have no other mission on our hands?" Miroku inquired, haven taken a seat beside Inuyasha.

"Your only mission, ever, was to live your life. You chose to help Kagome. You didn't have to. It would have all ended on it's own. And your hand? Don't worry, it'll get no bigger and only your males will be blessed with it. So, if you'd like, you could all just stop worring and return to your village. Which you will."

"Very blunt." Sango said, eyes glaring.

"Well, yes. When you know all the answers, you tend to get that way."

"My favorite colour?"

"Maruon. Your secret lover? Your biggest fear? What you'll name your children? Yes, I know all that too. And Miroku, good lord man! Keep your thoughts tame. Celibacy ring a bell?"

"He's always like that." Shippo said.

"Hmm. Well, since that's all the questions you have, I'll take my leave. I have to return your father, Inuyasha, before your mother finds out. Chow."

"Damn!" Inuyasha cursed. "He just ... dissapeared."

"What should we do?" Sango asked.

"I propose that we do as he said and return home. We have nothing better to do." Miroku said, picking himself up and dusting off invisible dirt.

"And what do you propose we do with Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo jumped, landing squarely on Inuyasha's shoulder, and hit him on the head before scurring off to Kagome.

"Why you little ... "

"Baka! What else do you think we should do with him? We raise him. And to raise him, we'd have to return home, that way were not tugging him along with us."

"I knew that."

"Sure you did."

A.N./ How's bout that? I know, it revieled things to quick right? Wrong. It left a lot of mystery still unsolved. Like, 'Where in the hell did the jewel run off to?" 'Why did dad do that?' Well I don't know, so keep on readin. To all my dedicated fans, COOKIES!

the northern most point of Japan is Hokkaido, which is somewhat close to Russia, which is where Calfur comes from. It is very popular for its large snow covered mountains, making travel hard.

Kami is equivilant to god

catty-corner means something is NW, NE, SW, or SE from a certain point. It's hard to explain but my boyfriend says it's between diagonall and vertical, or across the street and to the left or right. I know a lot of people who have no idea what it means. In math (geometry) it would be described as scew (scew line)


	4. Let's Play House

**Chapter 4: Let's play house**

The week following the soothsayers apperance proved to be tougher than any week Kagome and Inuyasha had ever faced. They had challanged Naraku, taken down demons of all sorts, even fought amongst themselves, but they had never faced such challanges as they had that week. It all boiled down to the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha had never once thought about raising a child. Neither of them had had much experience.

When they first arrived at Kagome's time, she had the unpleasant task of explaining to her mother what was going on. It wasn't that her mother was annoyed by the fact that they had brought a child into her home without asking. In fact, she was the exact opposite. She was hysterical.

"Mother, calm down." Kagome said, squeezing her mothers hand tightly. "Calm down."

"Oh, a child in the house! There's going to be a child in the house again! Oh, little pitter-patter of feet again! Oh, little pitter-patter!"

"Yes, exactaly what we need!" Grandfater mumbled. "A full blooded demon running around."

"Grandpa!"

"Oh, pitter-patter!"

"And Shippo gets to stay too?!" Souta asked. "Do you wanna stay in my room?"

"Sure." Shippo said.

"Oh, two full demons!?" Grandfather yelled.

"Grandpa!" Kagome yelled.

With an exasperated sigh, Kagome stood and, grabbing Inuyasha's hand, headed for the stairs. "You know what?" She yelled. "I'm just going to go upstairs until you all settle down. Maybe me and Inuyasha will go to the mall and find some clothes for little Shou. Yeah, that's what we'll do. Shippo, come on."

Shippo nodded and scurried up the stairs, scared of Kagome's rath.

Once in her room, she handed the babe to Inuyasha, who was staring at the tree outside her window, fixed on something that she couldn't see. Upon further examination, Kagome could see two glowing eyes staring back at her. She yelped, jumping behind Inuyasha for protection.

Shippo, oblivious to the danger, opened the window and walked out onto the balcony. That's when it hit him. Literally hit him. Out of nowhere, well out of the tree, came a flying object.

"Nice to see ya 'gin. Was wonderin when you'd let me. It was gettin mighty cold." Calfur said, kissing Shippo on the forehead.

"Calfur!" Shippo squealed. "What are you doing here?"

"Just answering some more questions."

"Calfur, you idiot, you scared me!" Kagome said, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. "Don't do that, you ass!"

"Ahhha! Kagome virign ears here." He said, covering Shippo's ears. "Now, what would you like to ask me?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha scoffed. "I don't remember needing your assistance."

"Oh. Then maybe it wasn't a question?"

Calfur stood, pulling Shippo up with him. Only when he pulled him up, Shippo reached his waist instead of hardly coming to his knees. Shippo looked down upon himself, clearly confused by what he saw. That's when he realized that ...

"I'm naked!" Shippo yelled. "Calfur, why am I naked?"

"Naked!?" Calfur screamed. "No. You mean your clothes don't fit you?"

"You dope." Shippo said, grabbing a towel off of Kagome's bed and wrapping himself in it.

"But how?" Kagome asked.

"Magic." Calfur smiled, a light glimmering sparkle coming from his fingers. "Oh, god, don't breath that in."

"What?" Inuyasha yelled. His fingers 'magically' wrapped around Calfur's neck, threatening to through him out the window. "What was that shit?"

"Nothing, nothing." Calfur choked, "Just joking."

And with that he was gone. Just disappeared. Just like last time. Gone.

"Damn." Inuyasha mumbled. "I hate how that guy just disappears like that."

"Never mind that, Inuyasha. Look at me!" Shippo said, motioning to his body, dropping his towel in the process. "Damn!"

"Shippo!" Kagome chasted. "When did you have such a potty mouth? I don't think you should be talking like that."

"Kagome!" Shippo whined. "I'm only, like, what, twelve. I think I should be entitled to some cursing. I mean, look at my role model. Geesh!"

Inuyasha's mouth dropped when Shippo pointed to him, causing Kagome to shoot daggers his way. He shook his head wildly, trying desperately to defend himself against the undying rath against anything that he did. Why did it always have to be him? She was always in such a pissy mood, especially when it came to anything that the little runt had to say to defile him. Anything that the runt had to say. Inuyasha, who had crossed his arms menacingly, was now staring daggers at Shippo who returned his gaze with daggers of his own. If that little brat got him in trouble, he'd ...

"You know what?" Kagome sighed, sitting down on the bed and pulling Shou into her lap. "Let's play a little game. Okay?"

"A game!?" Shippo said, eagerly sitting down beside Kagome.

Kagome smiled, pulling some of Shippo's lose hair behind his ear. How much the boy had grown in such a small time. "Let's play house." She patted the bed on the other side of her, silently asking Inuyasha to sit down. He complied. "I'll be the mother, Inuyasha will be the father, and you will be the first born, okay Shippo?" Shippo nodded. "And Shou here will be your little brother that you will look after lovingly, alright?" Again Shippo nodded. "Okay Inuyasha?" Inuyasha nodded as well.

The more Inuyasha thought about Kagome's proposal the more it seemed to make sense. They would be like a small family. A confused one that would undouptedly fight a lot and sometimes say they hated each other but a family none the less. And that's what Inuyasha would do. He would look after Shippo, love him; he would be like a second father to the boy, no doubt he needed a little structure in his life. And he would be there for Shou too.

"So, you ready to go the mall?"

"Mall?" Shippo and Inuyasha asked in unison.

Kagome laughed.

The trip to the mall wasn't as eventful as Kagome thought it would be. At first, her two demon companions had to get used to all the noise and the new smells but after a couple of minutes, they were looking around as excitedly as a country kid who'd never been to the city.

The first shop they stopped proved to be real helpful in finding clothes for Shou. He proved to be a little bigger than most four month old babies so instead of buying onezies, they picked out some outfits that would fit a one year old at the least. Most of the outfits were plain, white shirt and blue jeans; considering that Sesshomaru might not have liked being dressed in dinosaur shirts and jammy pants. The only elaborate piece of clothing that they picked out was a shirt that said 'I may be momma's little boy, but my dad can still kick your dads butt'. Inuyasha thought that that was appropriate considering he could probably kick any dads ass.

The next shop was convient enough for filling Inuyasha's simple needs. Even though it was a thrift store, Inuyasha swore that he liked the worn feeling of the hand-me-downs over the scratchy feeling of the new stuff. Plus, he wasn't a total fashion freak. They were even able to find a few toys for Shippo and Shou and some shoes for all of them. Out of the 7,500 yen her mother had given her, Kagome had only spent about half.

((((7,500 yen 75.00 USD or about 120.00 Canadian dollars))))

The final shop contained everything they'd need to settle Shippo into not only his new home but his first actual school year. He was able to pick out some fashionable clothes that would have him fitting right in and school supplies that were half off. He picked out some school uniforms and individually tried them on, insisting that he find the right one.

"What do ya think of this, Ma?" Shippo said, pulling his collar up and his pants down. The girl next to him, who was trying on dresses with her mother, giggled and looked away shyly when Shippo gave her a daring wink.

"Oh my!" Her mother exclaimed, pulling her child away from the obnoxious child flirting with her little girl.

"Okay, Shippo, I think we're through here." Kagome stuttered, appologizing to the other mother. "Inuyasha, don't give him a high five!"

By the time Inuyasha and Kagome had made it home, her grandfather had left on 'urgent business' and her mother had calmed down enough that she was able to pull out an old crib, which she set up in Kagome's room, and Souta's old toddler bed in his room. Shippo, who had fallen asleep on the way home, was tucked into bed by his new adoring parents.

"Did you two eat?" Kagome's mother asked from the doorway. "There's leftovers in the fridge."

"We ate, mother, thank you though." Kagome said, kissing Shippo lightly on his forehead. "I'm just really tired."

Her mother smiled at her and turned to return to her room. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, whose eyes were already starting to close, and smiled gently. Inuyasha, knowing that the look that Kagome was giving her was one of a kind, smiled back before heading to her room.

"Will I sleep in here?" Inuyasha asked. "Or would you rather I slept on the couch."

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself, I don't care where you sleep."

A.N. Sorry. I have no excuse. I'm just sorry.

I lived in the country for a long time and when I first arrived in the city, I was surprised and really scared. I don't mean to make fun of anyone and I don't think down of people living anywhere. I know live in Montana now, way out in the middle of nowhere.

Jammy pants are really tight pants that dancers ware sometimes. They aren't always called jammy pants.

My little brother has a shirt that says "I may be momma's little pumpkin, but my dad can kick your dads a" and that's just what it says a and all.

F.Y.I - The chapters will get smaller so I can update more often. College is harder than I expected.


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